STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK

PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK AND ASHLEY CAMPION

Sturtevants owner Olin Glenne sacrificed sleep from 2 to 6 a.m. Saturday morning to sidestep three inches of newly fallen snow off Sun Valley Resort’s World Cup Challenger Downhill Course. He was one of 100 volunteers who pulled four-hour shifts through the night.

But it went for naught. There would be no downhill race on Sun Valley’s course after all the work that went into the world's steepest downhill course, which stretches 7,474 feet with a vertical drop of 2,736 feet.

John Kearney took this photo of the downhill training course early Saturday morning as it was lit up for volunteers to side step snow off the course.

Mother Nature saw to that, with wind gusts Saturday afternoon that prompted race organizers to cancel the men’s and women’s World Cup Finals Downhill. The irony is that Sun Valley Resort rarely shuts down lifts due to high winds. But, then, it is March.

After morning starts were postponed by the overnight snow, thousands of people still found their way to the base of Greyhawk for the races, which had been rescheduled from morning to 2 and 3 p.m.

Hundreds took their place on the grandstand, waving Swiss flags and banners with Italian racer Federica Brignone’s image. Hundreds more took their place in the VIP tent, where VIPs paid up to $4,750 to watch from a large glassed-in luxury lounge with cocktails and catered gourmet food.

And there were so many spectators in the free spectating area at the base of the downhill waiting to see those who had raced 70 miles an hour on the course the day before that you couldn’t have slipped a ski lift ticket between them.

Federica Brignone held her World Cup Downhill Globe as she talked with Italian TV following Saturday’s awards ceremony.

While the races were cancelled, season-long downhill titles were awarded to the top downhillers on the World Cup Circuit.

It was a Swiss Sweep for the men with Marco Odermatt taking the gold, Franjo Van Allmen, silver, and Alexis Monney, bronze.

Italy’s Federica Brignone took first for the women—her first downhill crown--followed by Austria’s Cornelia Heutter and Italy’s Sofia Goggia.

Brignone related how her mother—former ski racer Maria Rosa Quario—told her before Christmas, “I would like to come to Sun Valley because it’s a place that I’ve never seen in the World Cup. But I will come only if you play for something big.”

Marco Odermatt and Alexis Monney celebrate their World Cup podium with their coaches. (Notice the Stockli skis since they’re so popular in Sun Valley).

Her mother didn’t get to see her race on Saturday, Brignone added, but she did get to see her get her first downhill globe.

Brignone said she tried to stay calm after the race was postponed, watch her skiing videos and visualize the race she wanted to run.

“I felt ready today. I just wanted to fight for it, but this is our sport. Alpine skiing is an outdoor sport,” she said. “I just wanted to get better this season. To win the World Cup was just something really unexpected and amazing.”

Heutter of Austria said she was a little sad that she couldn’t defend her World Cup downhill title with Brignone leading her by a mere 16 points.

An unusual Swiss-American flag was among a multitude of Swiss flags flying in Saturday's crowd as the Swiss celebrated a Swiss Sweep.

“But, all in all, I’m also really happy with my whole downhill season. I think I’ve not lost today the globe. The globe I lost in January where I was a little bit ill and struggled with my mindset and everything. And, yeah, I'm on the second position, and that sounds good.”

Odermatt had already secured the downhill title before coming to Sun Valley, and he’s clinched the Super-G and giant slalom, as well.

“It was very sad to not race today. I think the crowd would have been amazing—I didn’t expect so many people here,” he said. “It’s just fun to ski fast, to win races. This is what motivates me to continue pushing—to try to stay ahead of my teammates who are pushing really hard.”

Odermatt added that it was special having men wearing the same suits he does on the podium.

“We always give everything we have every day in the training with the whole team and not just the athletes. Also, with the staff, with the coaches, and we try to improve every day. And this year really paid off with so many victories and podiums and we hope to continue this.”

Sun Valley's Olympic downhiller Picabo Street, who is working the race as a commentator for NBC, shook her head when asked if she’d tried out the course.

“No and I never will. It’s funny to think I was crazy enough at one point to do this!”

John W. Lundin, who wrote "Skiing Sun Valley: A History from the Union Pacific to the Holdings," said that Saturday's cancellation of the downhill race was a real tragedy for Sun Valley: "They built the downhill course as a show piece to become one of the premier ski racing forums in the world.  The plan was to showcase the downhill to the world with the World Cup Championships, hoping to establish its reputation.  Their plan was foiled by weather.  The rest of the races will not have the same interest as the steepest downhill in the world.  A real setback."

Nevertheless, the World Cup Finals will resume today with the Super G, which starts just below below the downhill, which started at the top of International. The weather is expected to be more agreeable.

Sun Valley is fortunate in that spectators get to see all four alpine disciplines: downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom and Slalom—this week. Most World Championship events involve one discipline and often only the men or the women.

Today’s Super-G races combine the technical elements of slalom with the speed of downhill on a course that demands more maneuvering than a downhill run.

The Women’s Super G is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. and the Men’s Super G at 12:30 p.m.

Swiss skier Marco Odermatt has already locked up his third straight Super-G title, joining Kjetil Jansrud and Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway, Hermann Maier of Austria and Pirmin Zurbriggen of Switzerland as the only men to win three or more World Cup Super-G season crowns.

The race is tighter among women with Alice Robinson of New Zealand leading Federica Brignone 520 to 500 points accumulated over the World Cup season. New Zealand TV is here, covering Robinson as she tries to become the first Alpine ski racer from New Zealand to win a World Cup crystal globe.

SUNDAY, March 23

9 a.m.-5 p.m. VENDOR VILLAGE at Warm Springs Base Area

11 a.m. WOMEN’S SUPER G can be viewed from Lower Greyhawk Base viewing area (watch on Outside TV or on Cox Cable Channel 4)

11 a.m. The AUDI FIS WORLD CUP FINALS WATCH PARTY will be held at the Main Stage on Main Street

11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. LIVE MUSIC by the GARY TACKETT BAND at Warm Springs Base Area

Noon-8:30 p.m. VENDORS will be set up at Ketchum Town Square until 5 p.m., while FOOD TRUCKS will be at the square from noon until 8:30 p.m.

12:30 p.m. MEN’S SUPER-G can be viewed from Lower Greyhawk Base viewing area (Live on Outside TV or Cox Cable Channel 4)

1 p.m. The BLISTER REVIEW RACING RECAP PODCAST will start at Ketchum Town Square Stage

1-2 p.m., upstairs at Whiskey’s on Main—CHANGEMAKERS. A discussion on Leadership and the importance of non-profit organizations, community Impact will be led by SVMoA’s Executive Director Jennifer Wells Green; Laura Drake, who is the director of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival held every year in October; Karl Uri, of Sun Valley Culinary Institute and Bruce Seidel, producer of “Lucky Chow,” “The Food Flirts” and “At the Table with…”

2-5 p.m. WORLD CUP REBELS APRES MUSIC/220 KID, a multi-platinum selling songwriter with the hit single “Don’t Need Love,” at Warm Springs Base Area

2 p.m., Argyros—BODY TALK with Dr. Tara Shelby and Dr. Paul Miszczyszyn exploring art, medicine, sports and business.2:30-3:30 p.m. CULINARY Experience at the Sun Valley Culinary Institute (tickets required)

3:45 p.m. ATHLETE SIGNING at Sturtevants Limelight.

4 p.m. APRES SKI MUSIC with Brandi Cyrus on Main Street Main Stage

6 p.m. LIVE MUSIC with BIG & RICH, TRACY BYRD and JOSH WEATHERS at Ketchum Main Stage

EVENING—Speed painter Evan Struck makes performance art, painting portraits of Sun Valley’s World Cup finalists at Graham Galleries on Sun Valley Road.

10 p.m. LATE NIGHT PARTY featuring BRANDI CYRUS will start at 10 p.m. at Whiskey’s on Main

FREE SHUTTLES

There is no parking in the Warm Springs area, but Sun Valley Resort and Mountain Rides will be running shuttles every 15 minutes from 5:15 a.m. to 3:30 pm., then every 30 minutes from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Riders may park for free at the Upper Parking Lots on the River Run side of Bald Mountain. Additional parking lots throughout town, such as the south lot of the Wood River YMCA and Rotary Park, will also be activated as park-and-ride areas.

The Mountain Rides Bronze route leaves from the River Run Plaza bus stop by the bridge at :47 and :06 after the hour from 8:47 a.m. to 4:47. There also will be shuttles from the Baldy View Circle bus stop in the Sun Valley Village every 30 minutes starting at 5 a.m.

Those wishing to ride buses from Bellevue or Hailey may pick them up at the Atkinsons’ Market in Bellevue, Hailey Ice Rink north lot, Hailey Park & Ride on River Street and Wood River Middle School. Riders will transfer from the Valley route to the Blue route in Ketchum.

Buses will drop off in front of Apples; the drop-off location for motorists will be on Howard Drive.